Warwickshire Avon - Shrapnel and Shunamitism

I remember fondly the nineties where it really was a carefree existence, for me and many growing up in ones twenties it was such a simpler life compare to todays madness, and the money, yeap the money, you see as a CAD jobber I was earning a year what my first house set me back when I bought one at 23 years old. 

It really was the Life of Riley, well it felt like that anyway !!!....

Heck even the football was watchable with the crowds fuelled with enjoyment not anger having to watch the diving dross you get to see a quarter of a decade later, but I hit the hay day especially when I sold my house for 3 times what I bought it for a decade later, sadly its been going downhill ever since. 

Those bundle of notes left in my pockets every month, now swapped for shrapnel, where these days the average age of someone getting on the housing ladder is mid to late thirties !!!! Life's pressures increasing year on year, heck I might have to do a 'Gale' and get myself a motorhome and disappear if it continues at this pace, or maybe seek 'help' from a younger woman, yeah, I thought about that for less time than it took me to type it. 

Now at least I've got fishing to keep ones mind away from the realities, you see this hit and hold swim needed some planning, the barbel that are holding up here are not as stupid as their barbule boasting brethren, and despite getting the odd one feeding over ones mixed pellet and hemp buffet, the 12mm Dynamite Baits durable hookers, obviously stood out like a horse-fly on an overly white 3 tiered wedding cake.

It didn't help that its so clear that just getting to the swim means a stealth approach and, being low'un all, if you can see the barbus it can see you. Twice now I've crept down on all fours, spotted the fish in the baited swim for a split second before its buggered off to its sanctuary, never to be seen again. 

The third time a nice distinct fat fish of around 7lb drifted in and over the freebies and joined the chub in the mosh pit, however, seeing it clear as day, it was obvious there was something about the end tackle that it wasn't happy with. In the end I gave up, became inpatient and vowed to return better prepared.

Now the overhanging canopy provides shelter and a rolling approach with the bait trundling upon the bottom, brought only bites from small chub and not the barbel I was after, so I'm sure it was the presence of me as an angler that got it suspicious. 

It didn't help I don't think that despite trying to keep away from the 1ft deep water and much of my body hidden behind some tall nettles and cover, the 11ft rod was still breeching the swim when viewed in plan view.

So I dusted of my less conspicuous and underused Angling Direct River Ambush 7ft jobbie and would bait drop some pellets and hemp as before, leave for an hour and then fish a small discrete but glugged (hot fish) banded pellet on a size 12 hook on a long (for me) flurocarbon hook link, that I'd drop in to the swim half an hour before dusk.

Planning is the key in my fishing, you know that if you have been reading this blog of mine for a while. The engineer in me I suppose, ad-hoc does not compute, well it does from time to time I suppose when I need some peace and quiet quick smart away from the ear benders. 

Now Nic's YouTube subscribers tally had just clicked over to the 6k mark this week and he was also bankside with a similar intentions and fed a few swims with pellets and hemp with a bait dropper and would check each swim in rotation before getting a bait out if any barbel were spotted. 

Where as I hunkered down in to my swim and was there to stay. It didn't take long to see the first barbel when a small fish came out from the streamer weed to the left fed from the swim for a few seconds and then went northward under a overhanging canopy. 

At least I knew there were barbel around, however there were chub too that were getting their heads down feeding on the pellets. So it wasn't a surprise that after some determined pulls and plucks the first fish to hook itself was a small chub.

The swim is small and this grumpy chub had wrecked it for a while so after returning it I fed some more pellets and hemp and then went for a wander to see what Nic was up to.

He'd spotted a barbel drifting over his baited area in a really shaded areas where I've caught barbel from before. They just seem to like it here and what I didn't expect that within a few minutes of getting his boilie bait out, mid natter Nic's baitrunner went screaming off.

A cracking scrap too, run after run this 6 or 7 pounder really was giving him a run for his money where the whole battle could be seen in plain sight. It was eventually in the net and after a rest and a quick picture it was rested again and returned to the gin clear swim it came from.

Nic called it a day on that fish and we said our goodbyes where as I stuck it out another forty five minutes for another small chub that really was determined to make acquaintance with my landing net. So no barbel for me, as I ended the session a little early, but still an enjoyable session and always nice to have a catch-up.